ELMO Employee Sentiment Index New Zealand (April – June ‘24)

ELMO’s latest Employee Sentiment Index highlights some trust issues when it comes to managers and their remote-working direct reports, with three in five New Zealand managers surveyed saying they feel the need to check in with their direct reports more frequently when they’re working from home or remotely.

Employees, too, are feeling this lack of trust, with over half (64%) of workers surveyed feeling the need to be ‘always contactable’ when working from home.

The survey of 1,000 New Zealand employees also reveals:

• 66% of workers feel trusted by their managers when working from the office
• This figure drops to 56% of employees who feel trusted by their managers when working from home
• 44% of workers feel the need to be available after hours when working from home

The ‘right to disconnect’

The latest ESI report also sheds light on the ‘right to disconnect’ that recently came into effect in neighbouring Australia.

The survey found a quarter of New Zealand employees currently feel uncomfortable ignoring a work call or email outside of working hours, and just over a third (39%) reveal they feel comfortable doing so. The data also found that if a ‘right to disconnect’ were introduced in New Zealand – like that recently implemented in Australia – 46% of employees say they’d feel comfortable ignoring out–of-hours work contact.

So, what’s causing a quarter of employees to feel uncomfortable ignoring out-of-hours work contact?

Get your free copy of the latest Employee Sentiment Index to find out.